A MYSTERY man walking his dog could provide vital information to police probing the death of two men, including one from Northwich, in an horrific head-on crash.

The incident on the Wheelock Bypass claimed the lives of Mathew James Rammell, 27, of Verdin Street, Northwich, and 40-year-old married man John Anthony Bloor, of Hollyfields in Winterley. Mr Rammell's funeral took place yesterday.

Mr Bloor was driving a silver Mercedes Benz and Mr Rammell was at the wheel of a blue Ford Escort van. Both men received fatal injuries when their vehicles, travelling in opposite directions, collided at 11.40pm on April 11.

A third car, a Citro&#xEB;n AX driven by a 20-year-old Crewe man, was in collision with the two vehicles. The driver escaped injury, but was very distressed and treated for shock.

An inquest into the deaths of Mr Bloor, who worked as a sales manager, and Mr Rammell, also a sales manager, has been opened and adjourned.

A man walking his dog on the Wheelock Rail Trail, a scenic walk running alongside the bypass, was believed to be the first on the scene, but disappeared before police could speak to him.

Traffic police say they are desperate to hear from him.

PC Joe Poole, based at Sandbach police station, said: 'Apparently the man was walking his dog and heard the crash. He spoke to paramedics at the scene, but left before we could take any information from him.

'This was a serious incident which left two men dead and we need witnesses, including this man, to come forward.

'It was a dreadful scene of carnage in which both men suffered fatal injuries. It closed the road to early the following morning while accident investigations took place.'